Daily Dose, Website
A digital repository of Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawings, framed as a tool to form creative habits.
HTML5 Canvas functionality coded by Kris Fragata. Completed under the guidance of Jonathan Hanahan.
Timeline: 4 months
Role: Concept, Design & Development
Goals: facilitate creative habits
Constraints: Web Browser
Shortlisted in the Communication Arts 2022 Interactive competition.
Visit the live site (
Problem
I noticed many of my friends and family did not feel creative, despite being able to think creatively. They did not have a place to release their creative energy, and so had largely given up on making and playing. Studies show that spending time on creative goals daily makes people feel happier and more fulfilled, and so I wanted to enable people to get in the habit of making.
Solution
Using conceptual artist Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawings as a framework, I created a site that offers a quick, daily, creative task that requires minimal technical skill and still produces an satisfying finished piece.
In talking to people, I found that a big deterrent to making a habit of creativity was choice paralysis and a perceived lack of competency. A 2012 study on forming healthy habits also found, “Automaticity strength peaked more quickly for simple actions (for example, drinking water) than for more elaborate routines (for example, doing 50 sit-ups).”1
Therefore, I wanted to streamline and simplify the process of making as much as possible.
Upon entering the site, the first thing you see is a preselected wall drawing that rotates out daily. This makes it easy to jump into the process of making without having to think about it. If someone does not want to do the preselected drawing, they can have the program randomly choose another one or scroll through an index of different options, but these steps are optional. When actually making a wall drawing, the site will either finish or start the drawing for you. This makes the process seem less daunting and makes the whole experience quicker, strengthening automaticity. Finally, when you finish your wall drawing, you are shown a side by side comparison of its counterpart in an established art museum, adding credibility to your work.
I included instructions that could be moved aside or minimized for easy reference. When user testing, I found people often had trouble understanding LeWitt’s instructions as originally written. Therefore, I included more context using everyday vernacular, color cues, and was selective of what wording I was quoting. I also tried incorporating more visual cues to show what HTML canvas elements where interactive—glowing buttons, a different cursor, and movement all help indicate how to use the program. If all else fails, there is also a help button with more in-depth instructions as to how to use the site. After implementing these adjustments, people found the program much more intuitive, and less than 10% of people had to use the help button.
UI that shows people how to interact with the canvas disappears when people are actively drawing, making it easier to see what the finished piece will look like.
Pages with additional information are provided, giving context about the project and Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawings. Hyperlinks to more detailed information are also included in writeups.